


Hanukkah Ficlets/Drabbles

by psychoroach



Category: Dancing with the Stars (US) RPF, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, The Avengers - Ambiguous Fandom, World Wrestling Entertainment
Genre: F/F, F/M, Gen, M/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-23
Updated: 2015-03-23
Packaged: 2018-03-19 06:16:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 5,937
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3599469
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/psychoroach/pseuds/psychoroach
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Drabbles and ficlets I wrote for a friend this past Hanukkah she told me I should post.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

When Maks thought about soulmates, and who his would be, there were  
definitely things he'd like to think about that they encompassed.  
Saying the words 'oh now I bet you're just a big teddy bear' was not  
on that list. But right there on his forearm were those exact words.  
If he wore a cuff, no one saw them, but he spent time staring at them,  
wondering if he could be the type that was a 'big teddy bear'. It  
wasn't in his nature to be that way, nor anywhere near that, he was  
Russian after all. But he also spent a lot of his time saying no one  
really understood the 'real' him. So how much of a hypocrit was he?  
Who was the real him? What real him was he trying to be? Maybe he  
didn't understand that. Maybe he really was a 'big teddy bear'. But  
the truth of the matter was he hadn't dated anyone who brought that  
side out of him. Maybe that was the whole soulmate thing. He hadn't  
dated HER so how could he say that? The whole thing drove him nuts and  
if he was quite honest probably sabotaged a lot of his relationships  
before they got started.

A lot of people wouldn't go out with anyone before they found their  
soulmate. They'd tirelessly live out their days waiting for that one  
person to say that one magical word or sentence that would change  
their life forever; Maks wasn't that type of person. He'd dated,  
sure. He'd even had more than his fair share of one night stands.  
Being the dance teacher (one of them anyway) of probably the most  
successful dance studios in the New York/New Jersey area, and being  
attractive---he could admit it, what was so wrong with that?---he had  
his fair share of women throwing themselves at him and if he had the  
time and it had been a while and he needed a release, he let himself  
indulge. Sometimes the women understood exactly what it was, just a  
one time thing, some brief fun, but other times it had caused women to  
quit the studio in a huff when he refused to let them dote on him like  
they had some sort of claim on him. He didn't care, he wasn't going to  
be tied down. At least, not if the woman wasn't the right one. If they  
were, who knew? He wouldn't exactly chase them away. But he hadn't met  
'oh now I bet you're just a big teddy bear' yet. He sometimes wondered  
if he ever would.

Maks looked up as he was approached by his brother, Val's, soulmate  
Janel, who was dragging along a woman who was tall (for a woman  
anyway) and lithe and had a unique beauty that had Maks a little  
gobsmacked for a few beats before he could compose himself. "Maks, I  
want you to meet my friend Meryl." She said brightly, flashing him a  
smile. "She's an ice skater, but she's in her off season so she's back  
in New York for a while and I convinced her to come with me to a  
class, see if she likes it." She looked at Meryl with a smile Maks was  
used to seeing on Janel's face. "Don't get scared off too easily, Maks  
can be kind of gruff, but the class is really fun."

"Oh now I bet you're just a big teddy bear." Meryl said in a lilting  
voice that was like bells trilling in his ear.

Wait.

What?

Maks stood there, staring he knew, but he couldn't form a word, let  
alone a sentence, at first. Did she just...

"Now don't say that too loud." Maks finally said, still a little  
stunned. "I have a reputation to keep."

The way Meryl looked at him as if he'd shocked her speechless...he  
knew. If he looked over her body (and at that moment all he wanted to  
do was look over her body) he knew he'd find those exact words  
somewhere. He knew Janel probably knew what Meryl's words were though  
because as soon as he blurted out those words, she looked between them  
and cracked up, rushing off no doubt to talk to Val and tell him about  
the latest development.

"How about we go out to this little bistro I know nearby after class?"


	2. Chapter 2

When Bruce moved into the tower he realized right off the bat that  
Tony Stark wasn't exactly someone who could take care of himself.  
Sure, he ate, and even slept. He didn't need prompting to do those  
like people probably thought. It wasn't as if anyone had to bring him  
meals and force him to go up to bed when all he'd rather do was stay  
down in the labs/garage area and work on whatever it was at that  
moment he was working on. No, Tony needed taking care of in other  
ways. Mostly he forgot he had a company to run and he forgot also that  
he could take a few moments to just be normal. Like for instance,  
watch a movie. See, Bruce thought Tony sometimes needed breaks from  
the lab, especially after Pepper broke up with him and it seemed Tony  
threw himself into his work with a vigor that made Bruce tired just  
looking at him for five minutes. So Bruce devised a plan. "Hey, Tony  
have you ever seen the Jason Bourne movies?"

"Wh---" Tony looked up at him with a manic look. "With that Damon  
dude? The one Barton hates?"

"That would be the one."

"No. Why?" The confused frown on Tony's face is something Bruce would  
only half-hesitate to call adorable.

"I've been wanting to watch them and I need a break from the labs."  
Bruce said. "Care to come watch them with me? We don't even have to  
listen to Barton complain about 'that's not exactly how you'd do  
that'."

Tony looked down at the schematics in front of him that quit making  
sense to him about half an hour ago. "...yeah sure, why not."

 

Tony knew Bruce was afraid after this last attack by the ever so kind  
General McDoucheface. He'd been quiet for a couple years, and all of a  
sudden he came out of the woodwork trying to tout just how destructive  
Hulk was and how he was a menace to society and...well Tony'd stopped  
listening after a while, tired of listening to the tired rhetoric that  
just simply wasn't true. But he knew that Bruce was still effected by  
it. He would barely go outside, scared of being attacked and dragged  
off to a facility. It was almost as bad as the knowledge that HYDRA  
had been in possession of one of his suits care of his ex-best friend  
Colonel Rhodes. It hurt him to see his Science Bro like that. The  
problem was he didn't know how to fix it. So he did what any  
self-respecting billionaire philanthropist would do...he turned to  
JARVIS.

They talked about it at length and after a while he wondered if JARVIS  
was actually helping or just prompting Tony's own brain to work things  
out on his own. Or would that be helping still? Tony wasn't sure. But  
he managed a plan and he set it into motion. He had food delivered,  
Indian, Bruce's favorite, and set up a picnic in the living room. Yep,  
a flat out picnic...even if it wasn't outside. Right in front of the  
picturesque window that looked out over New York City. He made a quick  
thing that covered the windows that projected the night sky and had  
stars twinking and shooting and he smiled, impressed with himself.

"Bruuuuuucey, I'm home." Tony called as he walked down to the labs.

"You were home all day." Bruce muttered with a slight grin as he  
looked into a microscope.

"True but you've not seen me." Tony pointed out with a slight pout.  
"What are you doing?"

"I decided to pick back up some old work I abandoned." Bruce said  
carefully, not looking at Tony. It wasn't hard to figure out what he  
meant and Tony fought not to go over and ransack Bruce's area.

"We decided we weren't going to try to get rid of the Hulk anymore."  
Tony pointed out, and if he sounded a bit petulant he didn't much  
care.

"Tony..."

"No!" Tony held a hand up. "Bruce, I swear to God, you need to stop  
letting this asshole get to you! He doesn't give a rat's ass about the  
city or the people or the supposed threat that Hulk poses to the two.  
All he wants is to ferret you out and use your DNA to make an army of  
Hulks to use at his disposal! You know this!"

"That doesn't make it any easier to put up with!" Bruce yelled right  
back at him. A common misconception about Bruce was that he couldn't  
get angry and yell back at people for fear of Hulk coming out. Oh Tony  
found out that was complete bullshit REAL fast. Not only could he, but  
Bruce was 'always angry' so it wasn't that hard to hook his temper,  
but Tony wasn't the type to back down, even with the threat of Hulk  
coming out.

"I imagine it doesn't, but people hate Iron Man, too, you know." Tony  
said calmly. "They hate all of us, the Avengers. But we can't give a  
rat's ass. There are people out there who love us, too. And we just  
have to put up with the other ones and save their ungrateful asses,  
too. Because that's what we do." He walked over to Bruce and stared  
him down. "You're a hero, Bruce, whether you want to believe it or  
not. Hulk's a hero. The world needs a hero."

"I don't know how I got wrangled into this." Bruce muttered, the fight  
going out of him.

Tony grinned and threw his arm around him. "The only one of us who did  
know what they were getting themselves into when they became a hero is  
Steve, now come on, I got this whole plan upstairs to woo you..."


	3. Chapter 3

Bucky and Steve shared a lot of the same holiday traditions, having  
shared most of their lives together. Before Bucky came along Steve's  
family wasn't really about holiday traditions. He got a present or two  
for Christmas, but otherwise they didn't do much. It was almost like  
another day altogether. After Bucky came into his life, Steve saw just  
how some people celebrated the holidays. They didn't have a lot, just  
like Steve's family, but what they did have, they used and they made  
do with what they had. Steve felt mystified the first holiday they  
spent together and he felt like it was the first fully happy one he'd  
ever spent. Even after their respective parents had died and Steve and  
Bucky were forced to go to an orphanage, Bucky had made sure in some  
way they continued having some sort of celebration for the holidays  
which made it easier on Steve, especially when he was stuck in bed and  
they couldn't really do much, it meant a lot that Bucky would go out  
of his way to try and do something.

Natasha and Clint didn't grow up with holiday traditions. Natasha  
especially. Clint got presents, but his family never really did much,  
too depended on his dad's drinking habit, and then he'd run off to the  
circus where the holidays were just another time of year. Natasha  
didn't even know anyone celebrated certain days until Clint took her  
from the Red Room and brought her to the US. She didn't get it and if  
she was truthful, she still was a little confused since she wasn't  
really religious or just didn't understand the point of others. Clint  
wasn't really into them, but for some reason he wanted to try for  
Natasha. So they got each other presents, decorated their desks at the  
office. Small things that came to mean a lot to each other. It was a  
bit of niceties and normalty in their otherwise fucked up lives that  
sometimes threatened to bog them down so much that they would lose  
themselves.

When the four came together as a 'thing' it was like they'd all made a  
decision about the holidays, even though they hadn't said a word about  
it to each other. Steve had a meeting with Nick Fury and somehow  
managed to get the holidays off for the four of them. He thought it  
was important that the four of them were able to spend them together  
and when they started talking about it, they started making their own  
holiday traditions. It started with Clint saying something like 'in x  
country they do this for the holidays' and Bucky saying 'back home  
some of the families did x' and snowballed from there. What the final  
product turned out to be was a mish mosh fit together to fit their  
patchwork relationship that in the end made them all happy and content  
and looking forward to every holiday after that.


	4. Chapter 4

Dolph watched from afar as Erick Rowan went around backstage after  
Bray Wyatt seemed to 'set him free'. Personally, Dolph thouthght that  
Erick was better off without the sadistic Charles Manson-like figure  
controlling his life, but the large ginger who seemed to prefer  
wearing a sheep mask instead of showing off his real face seemed to be  
lost without the other man's presence behind him. Erick didn't seem to  
agree with the ideals that Bray had instilled in him though, like it  
seemed Luke Harper still did, and it put him at odds with the world  
around him. So Dolph watched from afar, trying to figure out what he  
could do to help.

First it seemed as if John Cena would take Erick under his wing, and  
Dolph had to admit, Cena did seem like a good influence on the man.  
But Cena was always the type that, while he could be a champion for  
someone, he lacked the skills to really teach them how to fly. He  
believed in a type of tough love, throwing people out there to see if  
they could fly and if they didn't...well it wasn't meant to be. Dolph  
didn't exactly agree with it, especially not with someone like Erick,  
but he didn't interfere.

Once it was obvious that John wasn't the one to hitch himself to,  
Erick got booked to tag with the Usos. Dolph had high hopes for this.  
The two twins were very nice and well liked backstage, especially  
Jimmy who went out of his way to be friendly to everyone who crossed  
his path. The problem lied in two areas. First Erick wasn't a high  
flyer like the Usos. He wasn't the type to throw himself over the top  
rope and off the top rope. So while he seemed to enjoy the company of  
the Usos, Dolph could tell that they just wouldn't click together in  
the long run. The second problem was that twins were...well twins. It  
was well documented that twins always had a closer relationship than  
most siblings and Jimmy and Jey were no different. Sometimes that came  
down to shutting out everyone else. Dolph was pretty sure if they  
didn't have their physical needs, if you knew what he meant, Naomi  
wouldn't be Jimmy's wife and Jey wouldn't have a girlfriend of his  
own. So that was another name ticked off the list of people Erick  
could hitch himself to.

A few days later Dolph watched Erick pass by Bo Dallas and he held his  
breath as Erick stopped and looked at Bo speculatively as the other  
man dumped water bottle after water bottle over his head. After a few  
tense seconds Erick shook his head and continued walking and Dolph let  
out a breath he wasn't sure he knew he'd been holding in the first  
place.

When Enzo Amore and Colin Cassady caught Erick's attention, Dolph  
wondered where that would go and he kept half an eye on things. It  
came to a head when Erick almost bowled him over, bursting out of a  
back room with half of his red beard dyed in what Dolph could only  
figure was leopard print. Enzo leaned out of the room Erick came from,  
yelling 'hey we ain't done here!' and Dolph just shook his head. They  
were done, Enzo just didn't know it yet.

Finally Dolph couldn't take it anymore and he approached Erick. "Hey,  
I know you've been trying to find someone to hang out with, to sort of  
take you under their wing. Give me a chance." He knew it was bold and  
if it came to it, Erick could flatten him like a pancake, but Dolph  
always had more guts than brains. He stood there as Erick looked him  
over before the large man slowly nodded. Dolph grinned and grabbed his  
arm. He pulled him out of the hallway and got them booked in a tag  
match first thing against Goldust and Stardust before Dolph decided to  
show him some things. They went out to the ring to Dolph's music and  
Dolph did his usual pomp and circumstance, grinning widely as Erick  
mimed him by shaking his own hips back and forth in a jerky way.  
"That'a boy!" He enthused. "Shake that ass!" He beamed as he showed  
Erick a few things and prattled on to him about their match later,  
giving him pointers about what to expect from the wily brothers.

After that, if Erick never left Dolph's side, well no one said anything.


	5. Chapter 5

Janel knew dating him was a risk. With someone who was on such a  
popular show and had the reputation he had, with everyone saying,  
laughing, that he would never settle down, she knew it was a bad idea  
to fall for him. But spending almost all day with him, every day, it  
was hard not to. There was no doubt that their chemistry was palpable,  
like a fire that slowly burned until it became a raging inferno.

Hey, slow it down  
Whataya want from me?  
Whataya want from me?  
Yeah I'm afraid  
Whataya want from me?  
Whataya want from me?

There might have been a time  
When I would give myself away  
Oh, once upon a time  
I didn't give a damn  
But now, here we are  
So whataya want from me?  
Whataya want from me?

After the competition they had sex. It was inevitable, and it was  
fantastic. It just made them want more and they agreed to try dating.  
Val had told her he was a nightmare and that he'd probably wind up  
hurting her in the end, but she perservered, wanting, stubbornly to  
see where it led, to make her own mistakes.

Two weeks after they decided to make it official, he made out with  
someone in a club. He said it started with some harmless flirting  
(which she could understand, even though the thought of flirting still  
hurt because why would you...she couldn't go there), and progressed to  
making out. He said he was tipsy, cried over the phone, not wanting to  
lose her. She forgave him.

Just don't give up, I'm workin it out  
Please don't give in, I won't let you down  
It messed me up, need a second to breathe  
Just keep coming around  
Hey, whataya want from me?  
Whataya want from me?  
Whataya want from me?  
Whataya want from me?

Yeah, it's plain to see (plain to see)  
That baby you're beautiful  
And there's nothing wrong with you  
(nothing wrong with you)  
It's me, I'm a freak (yeah)  
But thanks for lovin' me  
Cause you're doing it perfectly  
(it perfectly)

There might have been a time  
When I would let you slip away  
I wouldn't even try  
But I think you could save my life

It only took another four days for it to happen again. This time he  
slept with her. He admitted it though, said sometimes he missed having  
a warm body next to him and he missed her and all these other excuses  
that on anyone else would've had her giving up and hanging up. He  
cried again. It was her downfall.

Just don't give up, I'm workin' it out  
Please don't give in, I won't let you down  
It messed me up, need a second to breathe  
Just keep coming around  
Hey, whataya want from me (Whataya want from me)  
Whataya want from me (Whataya want from me)

Just don't give up on me  
(uuuuuuh) I won't let you down  
No, I won't let you down

(So I) just don't give up  
I'm workin it out  
Please don't give in,  
I won't let you down  
It messed me up (It messed me up)  
Need a second to breathe  
Just keep coming around  
Hey, whataya want from me

Just don't give up I'm workin' it out  
Please don't give in, I won't let you down  
It messed me up, need a second to breathe(second to breathe)  
Just keep coming around  
Hey, whataya want from me?  
(whataya want from me)  
Whataya want from me?  
(whataya want from me)  
Whataya want from me?

When it happened a third time, she broke things off, saying that she  
wasn't a fool and he wasn't going to play her that way. He reminded  
her, with a bitter laugh, that he told her he'd break her heart one  
day. She agreed and said that in hindsight it should've been enough to  
keep her away, to just be his friend. He seemed to treat his friends  
better. He agreed.

They spent time away from each other, not saying anything to each  
other for five weeks. Not even talking to each other over Twitter,  
which they'd done almost religiously when they were away from each  
other. People noticed, questions were asked. Janel didn't say  
anything, though. What could she say? She didn't want to ruin Val's  
reputation, didn't want to paint him in a negative light to his fans.  
He didn't deserve that, despite his shortcomings, he worked hard to  
gain the respect he had from fans, from his peers. He was the best on  
Dancing With the Stars, and he deserved every bit of the recognition  
he had.

So she kept quiet.

Then he showed up at her apartment. He cried, this time in person,  
fell to his knees, begging her to take him back. He pleaded, saying  
he'd be better, he'd work harder at treating her like she deserved to  
be treated. He grabbed onto her, wetting her shirt as he threw out  
every promise, everything he could think of to convince her.

Janel pretended not to smell the liquor on him.

The next morning, after he slept on her couch, and she gave him some  
Advil he apologized. This time for making a spectacle of himself. He  
admitted that ever since they'd broken up, he'd been a mess and had  
been drinking a lot more than he usually did. He didn't even remember  
coming over to her place. Just bits and pieces of the conversation  
they'd had.

He seemed so beaten down, so downtrodden that it was hard no to feel  
sorry for him. It tugged at her heartstrings.

She took him back.

He planned a birthday party for her. It was extravagant and had her  
friends, and his all in one space. He gave her a necklace and bought  
her a puppy (an adorable little white Havanese she named Will  
Hunting).

They danced to a song and Janel found herself falling all over again.

She's my kind of rain  
Like love in a drunken sky  
She's confetti falling  
Down all night

She sits quietly there  
Like water in a jar  
Says, "Baby why are you  
Trembling like you are?"

So I wait and I try  
I confess like a child

The lyrics touched her and she felt tears swimming in her eyes. It was  
such a romantic gesture that she couldn't help but fall for it. Other  
girls, stronger ones, would leave things well alone. They'd go cold  
turkey, know that they were good enough that they'd find someone else,  
someone better. Janel wasn't sure why she stayed.

She's my kind of rain  
Like love from a drunken sky  
Confetti falling down all night  
She's my kind of rain

She's the sun set shadows  
She's like Rembrandt's light  
She's the history  
That's made at night

She's my lost companion  
She's my dreaming tree  
Together in this brief  
Eternity

After the party they went back to her place and made love. Janel  
pretended that he was present, there with her, and that it was more  
than just a physical release, even though her heart ached in a way  
that told her she was wrong. Her instincts were always very good, even  
though she hardly ever listened to them.

She's my kind of rain  
Like love from a drunken sky  
Confetti falling down all night  
She's my kind of rain

So I wait and I try  
I confess all my crimes

She's my kind of rain  
Like love from a drunken sky  
Confetti falling down all night  
She's my kind of rain

She's my kind of rain  
Like love from a drunken sky  
Confetti falling down all night  
She's my kind of rain

She's my kind of rain  
Ohh, rain on me  
She's my kind of rain

They lasted six months. Went out when they were both in town, danced,  
found that chemistry they had on the dance floor. Janel felt entranced  
by it, and intoxicated. Val had a way of bringing her into his world,  
making her lose time, making her feel like she was in some sort of  
movie where the star-crossed lovers spent all night in just each  
other, their scenery changing but never noticing because to them it  
was just...them. Like Nick and Nora's Infinite Playlist. It was one of  
her favorites.

Summer days, winter snows  
She's all things to behold

Things changed. She wasn't sure when, or how, or why; but they  
changed. Val was a different person. He was...she hesitated to say how  
he should've been all along. But it was true. She wondered, the deep  
pessimistic part of her mind, if he was cheating on her again and just  
taking a different approach, but she asked all his friends, and they  
told her no. Even Maks who was often more blunt and honest than most  
people could take said he wasn't. He did shows, did classes, whatever,  
and went home, and in his spare time, he spent it with her. Maks said  
he was in love, and even said it could lead to marriage. He thanked  
her for making a change in his brother, helping him make the change to  
grow up.

Janel wasn't sure what to say to that.

At six months they broke up again. Janel this time. She got scared.  
Things were going so fast that it made her panic. The look on Val's  
face was something she'd never forget.

A year went by and Janel dated, had some flings, did Pretty Little  
Liars, was even in a movie. Life was...ok. She was ok. Happy even.  
Then she got the call.

It was Maks, Val had been in an accident. A car swerved and hit him as  
he was walking down the sidewalk. His body was so broken they weren't  
sure he'd ever walk again.

Janel rushed to the hospital as fast as she could, not caring about  
anything else. She cried to him, laying herself bare, saying she was  
scared.

Val was high on painkillers, but he smiled at her, the crack in his  
lip and the bruise that covered half his face not doing anything to  
belittle the handsomeness of his face, the way his smile did something  
that made her heart flutter. She was in love with him. She was tired  
of trying to deny it. He was in love with her, too. She knew it.

Maks had him transferred to a hospital in LA.

Another day has almost come and gone  
Can't imagine what else could go wrong  
Sometimes I'd like to hide away somewhere and lock the door  
A single battle lost but not the war

'Cause, tomorrow's another day  
And I'm thirsty anyway  
So bring on the rain

In some way, Janel knew that he knew that if he didn't, she wouldn't  
work. He was right. She was already making plans. It wasn't like she  
was really needed anyway. Her character was killed off on the show, so  
she just wouldn't appear anymore. They could cope, the show was  
brilliant.

But Maks wouldn't let her. They actually fought about it. The thing  
people think about Maks, they think he's quick to anger, a raving  
lunatic. But the truth of the matter is, his anger is slow simmering  
and even at the peak of it, he never raised his voice. Not like those  
video packages on Dancing With the Stars, obviously manipulated to  
tell a story. No, he looked at her with a hard look and subsequently  
shot down everything she said with a precision that only a surgeon  
could have. Any argument she made, he had a counterargument. She'd  
never argued with someone that got her so frustrated she wanted to  
tear his hair out. Or hers.

But he was right. Damn him. She knew it, she just wanted to be  
stubborn about it so she took out everything that she was feeling,  
about everything, on him.

He knew that, too, which is why he didn't get angry at her. At least,  
not too angry. He was more frustrated than outright anger.

In the end, Maks got Val moved to LA and it was better for everyone.

It's almost like the hard times circle 'round  
A couple drops and they all start coming down  
Yeah, I might feel defeated and I might hang my head  
I might be barely breathing but I'm not dead, no

'Cause, tomorrow's another day  
And I'm thirsty anyway  
So bring on the rain, ooh

Physical therapy takes a toll on Val. He gets angry, short tempered,  
and even throws a bed pan and one of those things they use to check  
your lungs to make sure you're breathing well. Janel tries to not let  
it bother her, but there are times she has to leave for a bit. She  
sits in her car and cries. It's hard.

Months after he started, Val is walking. With a cane, and only for as  
long as his legs can handle it, but he's walking. Janel knew he wanted  
more. He wanted to be like he was, the old him. She knew he'd been  
told he may never get there again and to not think about it, to be  
glad that he could even do as much, but Janel knew he still wanted to  
be back to normal. His normal. He had expectations of himself and a  
stubbornness to probably even see those expectations become a reality.  
Who knows. Janel wasn't going to be one of the ones trying to get him  
to 'see to reason' though. He was bogged down enough, she was bound  
and determined to be the reason he smiled, not another reason she held  
him as he cried himself into a fitful sleep.

I'm not gonna let it get me down  
I'm not gonna cry  
And I'm not gonna lose any sleep tonight

'Cause, tomorrow's another day  
And I am not afraid  
So bring on the

Tomorrow's another day  
And I'm thirsty anyway  
So bring on the rain, ooh

When Val told her he wanted to try a waltz, Janel had her  
reservations. He could walk around without a cane now, but he still  
got tired easily, and his legs still hurt if he used them too much.  
But he wanted to waltz. Begged. Pleaded. This time sober. It broke  
Janel's heart. She saw it in his eyes, saw how important it was to  
him. All he wanted was to waltz. But it was more than that. All he  
wanted was to prove to her...no...to himself that he could do it. A  
waltz was an 'easy' dance and if he could do it, if he could get  
through one waltz, there was hope, there was a justification to his  
stubbornness that some day he'd be ok again.

She knew all of this, which is why she agreed. How could she not? So  
she put on her iPod and found a song she figured was good enough to  
waltz to, and as it started, he took her hands and she flashed him an  
encouraging smile.

They moved as one.

Bring on, bring on the rain

No I'm not gonna let it get me down  
I'm not gonna cry  
So bring on the rain, ooh

After the waltz, something changed in him. He approached his physical  
therapy with an enthusiasm and gusto that made even the physical  
therapists tell him he needed to take it slow. Val wouldn't hear of it  
though, he had a goal, and he knew he could reach it. It was in his  
sights and all he had to do was work for it. He could do that, work  
for it. He was used to the hard work, and this was no different. He  
wasn't scared of it, he could and would do whatever it took. Janel was  
proud of him and she knew that all they'd gone through led them to  
this moment. The future looked bright.

Bring on, bring on the rain  
No I'm not gonna let it get me down  
I'm not gonna cry  
So bring on the rain, ooh


	6. Chapter 6

Looking at him, no one would expect Bo to be a daycare worker. But he  
loved kids, absoutely LOVED them and the way he was so kind and  
patient and happy and treated their children so good made Bo fairly  
popular with the parents of the children. He had a way about him that  
made even the most difficult kid become pliant and calm in his  
presence, the other workers who did shifts with him thought he was  
some sort of child whisperer or something. Bo loved working at the  
daycare, too, and he enjoyed the children and the people who worked  
there.

The one thing Bo couldn't understand was why the workers there just  
let the children play and didn't engage them at all. Bo couldn't  
understand why they wouldn't play games with them or do activities, so  
he sometimes took it upon himself to do so. Like this whole week has  
been pre-Christmas so Bo took it upon himself to help the kids do  
little presents for their parents. He thought they'd enjoy getting  
little handmade gifts from their kids. He even had Colt come and help  
him (even though Colt was Jewish and playfully said he didn't  
'understand that whole Christmas thing').

Bo and Colt helped the kids make homemade snow globes, paper cut out  
snow flakes and even did Santas with cottonball beards and a puff on  
the end of the hat. Bo even figured out how to do Rudolph ones and  
Colt came up with a few Hanukkah thing for the kids who were Jewish  
(Bo felt bad about not knowing they were Jewish until Colt explained  
that if the kid didn't specifically tell him, he couldn't have known).  
All in all, it was a fun time and both Bo and Colt had a blast, and if  
they made stuff to give to their people at home, well no one said  
anything.


End file.
